


'The Story of a Boy' by Keith Kogane

by TrixxKwamii



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: (besides Allura), Alternate Universe - Boy Band, Alternate Universe - Middle School, Artist Lance (Voltron), Bisexual Lance (Voltron), British Character, Fluff, Gay Keith (Voltron), Gen, Keith (Voltron) is Bad at Feelings, Keith is British bcs why not, Lance (Voltron) is a Mess, M/M, Musician Keith (Voltron), Musicians, School Dances, Song Lyrics, keith matt and shiro are in a band
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-10
Updated: 2019-11-10
Packaged: 2021-01-26 13:47:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,376
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21375124
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TrixxKwamii/pseuds/TrixxKwamii
Summary: After stopping his favorite band from breaking up, Lance works up the courage to ask one of the members to go to a school dance with him.
Relationships: Allura & Hunk & Lance (Voltron), Keith/Lance (Voltron), Matt Holt & Keith & Shiro
Kudos: 32





	'The Story of a Boy' by Keith Kogane

**Author's Note:**

> Based on _VIP: I'm With the Band_ by Jen Calonita. It's just the last two chapters combined into one, but I kinda wanna do the whole book someday maybe?

As soon as Veronica returns to the hotel room from her meeting, Lance asks her if anyone in the press had mentioned him single-handedly saving The Paladins. She just laughs.

"Lance," she says, holding him close and stroking his hair like their mama had done when he was little and there was a thunderstorm. They're sitting on the couch in the room while his friends continue to sleep. They had been up pretty late celebrating with ice cream the night before. "Rule number one with pop stars: the only person they ever credit is themselves." Lance sighs but doesn't say anything. It's a bit of a bummer. "But don't you worry - Sam and I know what you, Pidge, Hunk, and Allura did, and maybe someday they'll write songs about you." She winks. "In fact, I think one of them already did."

Lance blushes. Does Veronica know he has a crush on Keith? Or does she think he still liked Shiro, whom he'd had a crush on before meeting in person?

It's time to fess up. He tells Veronica how he wrote Shiro the poem and drew the poster that accidentally caused the band to temporarily break up before he knew he'd have any chance of actually meeting him. He'd used his full name (Leandro) because he was afraid Mama would be mad that he was asking a boy to his school dance (the no-dating-until-high-school thing). He'd had no idea he and Veronica would wind up on the road with The Paladins and his poster would wind up being chosen as a finalist in a Paladins fan-art contest. Now that he knows the guys, Shiro feels more like a mentor, Matt more like a brother, and... well, he leaves Keith out of it. He starts to get a bit hysterical and choked up at the end when he tells Veronica he doesn't want they guys to know he was Leandro. She listens without interrupting - her manager training had made her good at that - and then hugs him tighter.

"One question: You're sure you don't want to go to your dance with Shiro anymore?" she asks.

He shakes his head slowly. "Shiro would make a fun brother - well, not as fun as Matt according to Pidge - but as far as a husband I could live in Cuba with and sell my art? No. Way."

Veronica laughs. "I knew you were a smart boy. And you're right, Mama would kill you if you dated before high school. She'd say you're way too young," she says sharply, "but _I _see no reason why you can't have an escort to your last middle school dance."

"Really?" Lance asks softly. He'd worried for nothing. Veronica really was cool. She'd help convince Mama.

"Is there someone you _do_ want to go to the dance with?" she pries.

Keith. He wants to go with Keith.

He's not ready to admit that out loud yet.

"Maybe," he says.

"Well, either way you're in luck. Family members of personnel who work for the band are not allowed to enter the contest, so that means you're off the hook. I'll tell Sam that I got a call from Leandro's mom, and she wants her son to pull out of the contest," Veronica says, "I'll cite security reasons or something like that." She pats his hand. "I'll take care of it."

He hugs her again and says, "Thanks V."

"Publicity has already spun a reason behind the band's spat - lack of sleep, they were just joking, et cetera - and they prepared a press statement about them staying on Rolo and Nyma's tour and announcing the contest winner on Arus Radio. Things are looking up again." Veronica smiles. "Can you believe that soon we'll be home for a few days? And just in time for your dance too."

Home. Suddenly he misses it. His bed, his Paladins posters. Cody the dog barking next door. It would be good to be home for a _few _days. Wait. Just a few days?

"You mean we're going back out on tour?"

She laughs. "Yes, we're part of the band for the foreseeable future. Are you up for road life and tutoring with Ryner and the boys' shenanigans?"

"Definitely!" he jumps up and prepares to wake Hunk and Allura. He feels a hundred pounds lighter, which would make him zero pounds, but that's beside the point.

"Oh, and Lance?" Veronica's voice was suddenly sterner. "Try to find a way to celebrate today without ordering another ice-cream sundae bar, okay? Room service adds up quick."

He swallows hard. "Okay." The truth is, he doesn't need ice cream to be happy. He doesn't need to wake Hunk and Allura at the moment either. Let them sleep. He'd run and find Pidge for now.

He rushes out of the room and runs straight into Keith, falling flat onto the floor.

"Are you okay?" Keith helps him up. He feels slightly stunned, and not just because Keith has on jeans and a red hoodie and looks like a guy who belongs on a magazine cover (which Lance guessed he was). "You're kind of klutzy today."

"I am," Lance says with a nervous laugh.

"Well, I was coming to give you this." Keith holds out a sheet of paper. "I'm sorry it's taken forever for me to finish it. I've been a little sidetracked."

Lance looks down at the paper. '_The Story of a Boy' by Keith Kogane._ It's a song. A song Keith wrote for Lance!

"Don't read it in front of me," Keith says quickly, "You'll give me a serious case of the collywobbles." Lance raises an eyebrow at him. "You'll make me nervous," he translates.

"Oh, okay," Lance says, feeling very collywobbles himself.

"Catch you later," Keith says, and begins walking down the hall.

Who's he kidding? There's no way Lance was waiting until he was gone to read the lyrics.

** _'The Story of a Boy' by Keith Kogane_ **

_See him standing there in his messed-up kicks,_  
_Looking like he's got the whole world to fix,_  
_With a smile that feels like a million watts_  
_And a laugh that makes me want to rock._  
_Oh!...He's a superhero in training,_  
_I'll be forever waiting._  
_(Chorus)_  
_This is the story of a boy,_  
_A boy who makes you want to whirl,_  
_A boy who makes you feel like you're miles from shore_  
_And you don't want for anything more._  
_This is the story of a boy._

_This song is about ME? _Lance thinks. _Does Keith maybe, sort of, possibly, kind of have a crush on me too? If he does, then he'd definitely..._

"Keith!" he yells down the hall. When he doesn't turn right away, Lance runs after him.

Keith turns around. "You read the lyrics, didn't you?"

Lance takes a deep breath. "Yes, and there's something I have to ask you."

* * *

_ **ABOUT A MONTH LATER** _

"How are you doing, Garrison Middle School!" the DJ yells into his mic.

He gets a lackluster cheer in return. He's definitely no Rolo and Nyma or The Paladins.

Okay, sure, the school dance is being held in the school gym, which smells slightly like twice-worn socks, the food is soggy heroes and bright red punch that could ruin your dress with one splash, and the decorations are some balloons and paper stars hanging from the basketball nets around the court, but to Lance it's the most beautiful gym in the world.

Keith Kogane agreed to go to his school dance with him!

Yup, Lance had been brave in that hotel hallway. He'd channeled his inner comic OC without a nail file or a velvet rope to climb down a building with and blurted out the words to Keith that he'd been holding in for so long:

"Dance, me, go, school, with, music, tie, cute in suit?" The words came out garbled, and Lance laughed loud like a hyena.

Keith blinked.

He tried again. "What I meant to say was, if you weren't busy, and you were in New York when this was happening, would you, could you, maybe want to go to my school dance with me?"

Keith broke into a grin. "I've never been to a school dance before. Sounds brilliant."

And now, a few weeks later, here they are. No one dresses too fancy for these things, but Veronica had still gotten Lance a new tie while they were on the road that was as blue as Captain America's suit (he considers that good luck), and Keith is wearing jeans with a suit jacket and a skinny tie because that's very pop star of him.

"Do you think we ought to try to dance because we're at a dance?" Keith asks Lance. They're standing on the side of the gym talking to fans and Hunk, Pidge, and Allura since they arrived an hour earlier. Hunk and Allura had decided the middle school date curse is a bunch of garbage and had instead gone solo - technically. They had brought Pidge, so really they're a trio.

Lance laughs nervously. "Yeah, but this is a slow song."

"So?" Keith asks.

Pidge, Hunk, and Allura's jaws all drop and Lance nearly bites his tongue. "Okay," he says, and walks with Keith out to the middle of the dance floor. Kolivan, The Paladins' bodyguard, follows so people will give them some room. Keith has quite the group of followers.

Keith runs a hand through his hair and sort of laughs. "Okay, I don't have a clue what we do next! I've never really slow-danced with anyone before."

"Me neither," Lance says, blushing, "I mean, maybe we just..." He places Keith's hands around his waist. He puts his hands on his shoulders and feels a little loopy. He's seen people do this in movies, but this is awkward in real life! He giggles nervously as they start to sway.

"Dance teacher, comic-book creator, and band-breakup stopper," Keith jokes, "Is there anything you can't do, Lance McClain?"

"Nope." Lance is blushing so hard he can't think of anything better to say, not when Keith is this close at staring at him.

"Did you hear we picked the contest winner on Arus Radio today?" Keith asks.

The Paladins were on the morning show with Klaizaap that day. Veronica says it was a huge hit (Lance, unfortunately, had to go to actual school, which was the downside of being back in New York for a few days). Apparently, some girl even fainted outside the studio and had to be taken away in an ambulance! This week alone The Paladins' Twitter followers have topped one million, and their YouTube channel subscribers are even higher. Veronica says it hasn't been officially announced yet, but it looks like The Paladins are getting their own headlining tour, and Lance gets to go on the road with them for it.

"We're going with the girl from Habitat for Humanity."

"I really liked that one," Lance says, "That girl deserved to win."

"It's a shame about that Leandro entry though," Keith says, and for some reason his face looks funny, "Too bad his mom made him pull out of the contest. Shiro really wanted him to win so he could go to that dance with him. His drawing of the group was aces, wasn't it?"

_Does Keith know I'm Leandro?_ Lance thinks,_ Did he figure out I drew that picture?_ He hears a swishing sound in his ears. Is that a new song playing or his heart thumping in his chest? He's not going to tell Keith if he's not going to ask him.

"Yeah, his drawing _was_ aces," he says carefully, stealing Keith's favorite phrase, "but maybe he decided he wanted his drawing to be aces for someone else." He's starting to ramble. "Maybe he sent that poster in before he knew there was a contest. Before he knew enough about The Paladins to figure out who he really wanted to take to his school dance. Maybe he realized who he really liked was you."

He's breathing heavily. Keith and Lance just look at each other. They'd stopped swaying and are just standing in the middle of the dance floor.

"You think so?" Keith asks quietly.

"Maybe." Lance feels his heartbeat slow again. "People change their minds."

Keith grins. "I hope you're right."

"Hey you two!" Matt yells from the stage. "Could you stop dancing so we can perform some songs? The natives are getting a little restless."

"Will you excuse me?" Keith asks politely.

"Of course," Lance says, and watches Keith run off to join the guys onstage.

Yup. The Paladins agreed to perform at the Garrison Middle School dance. Sam thought it would be great with the local press, and publicity agreed. Lance thinks it also gave Veronica an excuse to keep an eye on him, but at least she hasn't come over and tried to dance with him yet.

"What were you two just talking about?" Hunk asks when he and Allura run over. Lance hears Keith tuning up his guitar onstage.

"How are you doing, Garrison Middle School?" Shiro shouts, and Lance's classmates scream (much louder than they had for the DJ).

"He didn't try to kiss you, did he?" Allura sounds frantic. "When he was standing so close like that, I was sure he was going to try to kiss you!"

Lance shakes his head. He's not sure he even wants Keith to kiss him. Right now, at least. He's only thirteen, and he has a comic book to finish and album covers to design and the beginning of high school to worry about. And Keith is a soon-to-be international pop star.

They both have a lot going on, and he's just happy to have him come to the dance.

"Nope!" he says.

But that doesn't mean he can't daydream about the day it would happen and their future after that.

He's thinking a life in Paris. There's a lot of famous art there for Keith and him to check out. Keith'll be part of the biggest band on the planet, and Lance will be his album-cover/comic-book designing husband. The possibilities are endless.

But first there's a Paladins tour to plan! Lance can't wait to see what happens on the road with the boys next.


End file.
